Curations: The raincoat
The poem below, from Mexican-American poet Ada Limón (which I was introduced to by the SALT Project), is a beautiful invitation to reflect on the people in our lives who have helped us in ways we may not have noticed. And when read through the eyes of faith, it is a portrait of the loving parenthood and providence of God.
As I reflected on this poem, it struck me (as it did the poet) how often I only fully recognized and experienced God's providence and care looking back, or when somehow prompted by another act of care. It is so easy for us to take for granted the many ways we experience the care and love of God. Perhaps this poem is an invitation to open our eyes: to the "marvel" of God's love surrounding us, and to open our hearts in gratitude for such graces.
When the doctor suggested surgery and a brace for all my youngest years, my parents scrambled to take me to massage therapy, deep tissue work, osteopathy, and soon my crooked spine unspooled a bit, I could breathe again, and move more in a body unclouded by pain. My mom would tell me to sing songs to her the whole forty-five minute drive to Middle Two Rock Road and forty- five minutes back from physical therapy. She’d say, even my voice sounded unfettered by my spine afterward. So I sang and sang, because I thought she liked it. I never asked her what she gave up to drive me, or how her day was before this chore. Today, at her age, I was driving myself home from yet another spine appointment, singing along to some maudlin but solid song on the radio, and I saw a mom take her raincoat off and give it to her young daughter when a storm took over the afternoon. My god, I thought, my whole life I’ve been under her raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel that I never got wet.
Is there a time (previously) in your life that you can look back and see God's care, even if you didn't realize it at the time?
What human expression of care and love have you witnessed in the past few days? How might that invite you to marvel at the way God has cared for you?
How have you experienced the providence of God through another person/other people?
What are some ways you could show the care of God with someone else, or help them to experience the provision and providence of God?
- GJD